


Wet Sand

by mrshomestuck



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkwardness, Bullying, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-14
Updated: 2013-12-15
Packaged: 2018-01-04 14:39:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1082191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrshomestuck/pseuds/mrshomestuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin is currently enjoying another summer with his friends, Eren and Mikasa. But lately, he's been fading away a lot more. Maybe it's the fact of them all about to be seniors and graduate, or the fact that it's been a lot hotter than usual. Whatever it was, he would always find himself at the ocean.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello

“Armin? Aren’t you coming with?” Mikasa asks as she notices his slowing pace. Eren turns quickly to give him a questioning look.

“We’re getting ice cream, remember?” Eren says with a smile.

“Oh, um...” Armin pauses for a bit. “I kinda just...”

“Want to go to the ocean again?” Eren cuts in, finishing his sentence for him.

“Yeah.”

“It’s okay. You should come with us next time though.” Mikasa says with a gentle smile. “It’s getting really hot lately, so it would be nice.”

“I know. I promise I’ll go next time.”

“Good! You’ve been missing out on a lot, Armin.” Eren smiles brightly before turning away and continuing to walk beside Mikasa. “Bye Armin!”

“Bye!” Armin waves enthusiastically and waits until the two turn the corner. Armin takes a deep breath before turning to the street beside him. In the distance, he can see a shimmer of the waves behind thick trees.

He has never loved anything as much as the sea. It’s so beautiful and has so much interesting life in it. Now that he lives alone on the money from his passed family and a cheap part time job at the library (which he actually loves a lot), he’s taken a lot more time into making the beach his home.

Armin begins running as he gets close. A big grin is on his face as his feet hit sand, to which his sandals go flying without a care. He barely notices that loud voice of someone nearby as he runs ankle-deep into the water. He puts his hands on his hips and takes a deep breath of the salty air.

“Hey! I said hey!” The voice finally gets through to Armin, to which he turns around with curiosity. People almost never come to this part of the beach... This quickly causes a cold sweat to run down Armin’s back. This guy is totally talking to him... “Jesus christ, you scared the shit outta me...”

Armin observes the guy in front of him. He’s got light brown on top of his head but a dark brown all below that. He’s in a loose fitting grey t-shirt and has red shorts on. Armin notices a hand slowly being held out. “I’m Jean.” He says with a corny grin.

“...Armin.” He replies, reaching out his hand shyly. The handshake he gets is rough and abrasive. Armin is really not good with most people who fit into this personality type... His quiet personality and their loud personalities usually don’t mix. Sure, there are exceptions to this (Eren), but they usually have to have a deep bond for it to ever work.

“When I saw you running it scared me so bad...” Jean giggles with a much lower voice, scratching the back of his head. “I’m kinda new here... Does that stuff always happen here? Kids running as fast as they can into the ocean?”

The blonde turns bright red and avoids eye contact as he speaks. “U-um...”

“Eh? Are you shy or somethin’?” Jean interrupts. “That’s hella cute.”

Armin grabs the straps of the bag on his back and fiddles with them a bit. He’s really uncomfortable. This is usually his personal spot to study and draw and such... But someone seeing him like that...

“Hey, can I join you? I’ll run and scream and do everything!” Jean says with a bright grin, obviously trying to be nice to him.

“I...I was just gonna... study a little...”

“Eh? Study? But it’s summer.”

“I mean the ocean! I-I’m not that big of a nerd!”

“Hahaha!” Jean laughs at the shorter, only to give him a sly smile. “You just look like you were about to have so much fun. I wanna get a part of that.”

“...O-okay.” Armin says bashfully before reaching into his bag and getting out a sketchbook and a pencil. He carefully perches himself on top of a nearby rock and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment to soak it all in. This is his element. He can get through an hour or two of a guy talking to him uncomfortably.

Jean sits next to Armin and watches as his blue eyes stare down at the water underneath them. “Isn’t it pretty?” Armin says softly, unaware that he’s saying this out loud, that is, until Jean replies.

“Yeah. It’s gorgeous.” Jean takes a moment to stare at the ocean in front of them before turning his eyes back to Armin. He adjusts himself so he can comfortably lie an arm on his knee as the other leg hangs off of the rock calmly. “You really like the ocean, huh?”

Armin looks at Jean with calm eyes, obviously comfortable with the topic. “Yeah. I love it.”

“What do you like the most?”

“How vast it is.” Armin replies without pause.

Jean looks at Armin with a smile, this time it’s much more sincere than all his last smiles. “Did your parents take you here when you were little or something?”

Armin suddenly stiffens up. How could the most comfortable subject in the world change to one of the most uncomfortable ones. “Um, no, not really... I um, don’t really... remember my parents that well.”

“Oh.” Jean stiffens up as well due to that reply and moves his gaze back to the water. “...Sorry.”

“It’s okay...” Armin replies.

“Have you lived here a long time?” Again, something that makes Armin uncomfortable.

“...Yeah. With my Grandpa.”

“What does he do?”

“...Oh, um...” Armin pauses. This one hurts a lot more than the others. “...He’s...” Armin waits for Jean to make eye contact before pointing at the sky with sad eyes.

“J-jeez... I’m sorry. I seem to keep bringing up depressing things...” Jean replies with pity. “Who do you live with?”

“No one.” Armin says softly. “It’s okay though. The apartment isn’t that bad.”

“...What grade are you in?”

“I’ll be a senior when school starts.”

“Oh, same.” There’s a silence before Jean speaks up again. “It kinda sucked moving only to finish my senior year though, haha.”

“Where are you from, if it’s okay to ask?”

“Trost.”

“Ah. That’s pretty far away.” Armin makes eye contact and takes a deep breath. “Oh well, sometimes a new start is a good thing. Plus, the ocean is much closer here.” Armin gives Jean a big smile before turning to the water again.

“You... really love the ocean.”

“What’s there not to love?”

“It’s scary.”

“Isn’t it scary on land too?” Armin looks at Jean curiously. “I mean, you saw how I first acted with you.”

“It’s been like 5 minutes.” Jean smiles. “That’s okay though. I’m happy that I’ve made a friend so quickly. I’m usually not very good with others.”

“Eh?” Armin looks at Jean with slight confusion.

“Hehe, surprised? Teamwork is my most lacking skill... Or, my most prominent weakness, I guess you could say.”

“You seem like a leader.” Armin says. He can’t believe that someone like him could ever have issues with working with people.

“Haha, funny... One of my old friends would always say that to me...”

“Oh... Moving must suck in that aspect, huh?”

“Nah.” Jean pauses, contemplating if he should elaborate. “...I wouldn’t be able to see him if I stayed anyway.”

“Hmm?” Armin looks at Jean with confusion. Jean just gives him a sad smile before pointing at the sky like Armin did not even two minutes ago.

“AH! I’M SORRY!” Armin yelps, to which he almost falls forward off of the rock if it wasn’t for Jean grabbing his shoulder quickly.

“Jeez, you really are clumsy, huh?”

Armin puffs up his cheeks with a bright red face out of embarrassment. “I-I’m not a kid...”

“Obviously.” Jean says with a grin. “...Can I see your drawings, or notes, or whatever?” He suddenly asks.

The blonde glances at the sketchbook in his hands before uneasily handing it to Jean. He carefully goes through, observing the carefully written notes and sketchy drawings of shells and close-to-shore animals. “Hmm? Can you draw people? I’m pretty bad at things like art...”

Armin reaches into his bag again and pulls out another, smaller sketchbook. “It’s not much, but sometimes I draw my friends...” He flips open a page and shows Jean. “This is my friend Mikasa. She likes it when I draw her, so she’s in here a lot...”

“Ah, she’s pretty!” Jean says with joy in his voice. “You’ve got some cute friends, huh? Anyone else?”

“Oh, well...” Armin flips through several drawings of Mikasa before stopping. “There’s Eren. He’s my best friend too, but he doesn’t like me drawing him much. I don’t blame him, keeping still is really hard for him.”

“Hehe, he looks kinda funny though...?”

“Oh, no, Eren just looks kinda funny in the first place.” Armin jokes, only to shake his head intensely after a while. “T-that was a joke...! If you meet him, don’t tell him I ever said that! He’ll beat the shit out of me!”

“Eh? Swearing? Aren’t you too pretty to do something like that?” Jean squints as he observes Armin.

“P-pretty?! I’m not a girl...!”

“Yeah, but look at your hair. It’s all... girly.”

Armin huffs out before pulling the hair tie off of his wrist and tying his hair into a short ponytail. “...Now?”

“Hey now, let’s not try to seduce Jean any longer.”

“Pfft. You’re kinda a loser, huh?”

“Hell yeah I am.” Jean says with a big grin. “It’s just who I am. I also understand how strikingly handsome I am, so you should understand how pretty you are.”

“I’m not gonna be stuck up like that!” Armin pouts.

“See, you’re really cute too!!! It’s kinda unfair, y’know?”

“Oh, please.” Armin giggles softly and Jean gives him a gentle smile.

“...Do you usually hang out here?” Jean asks, realizing the current conversation is getting a bit awkward.

“Oh, yeah. Usually after hanging out with Mikasa and Eren. They actually wanted me to hang out with them right now, but... I feel kinda lost if I don’t see the ocean for a while.”

“Where do you guys go at times like this?”

“...To get ice cream.” Armin laughs a bit. “It’s pretty childish, now that I think about it.”

“Nah.” Jean smiles brightly. “It sounds nice.”

“...Do you want to come with us tomorrow?” Armin makes eye contact with Jean before turning the corners of his mouth upwards as a gesture of friendliness. “I’m sure they won’t mind if I bring you along.”

“Really? I can come along?” Jean gives him an even brighter smile than before.

“Sure.” Armin says with kindness in his voice. He then lets out a gentle grumble as Jean roughly messes up his hair as a gesture of friendliness.

“I’m happy I met you.” Jean says with a twinkle in his eye, to which Armin laughs after straightening out his hair.

“We’ve known each other for like 30 minutes.”

“That’s longer than anyone else I've met since moving here.”


	2. Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin invites his new friend Jean to an outing with his other friends. It doesn't exactly go as expected.

“Huh? Who’s this guy?” Eren says with a glare, leaning close to Jean as he stands next to Armin.

“This is... Jean...” Armin notices the uncomfortable atmosphere between the two boys next to him and feels fear bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. “He’s from Trost.”

“Eh? Trost? That stuck up rich kid place?” Eren’s glare gets more intense as he’s obviously tries to intimidate him.

“Armin.” Jean catches the blonde’s attention. When Armin looks up, Jean is looking at him and he gets close to whisper. “Can I punch him?”

“No! Don’t make it any worse!” Armin shout-whispers back, obviously upset at the idea of any unneeded violence. Jean sighs and scratches the back of his head as Armin continues to whisper. “Just be nice, and they’ll be nice. If Eren tries to pick a fight just ignore him.”

“Ugh.” Jean grunts before standing up straight again and he quickly holds out his hand to Eren. “Hi. I’m Jean.”

Eren glares at him before slowly reaching out his hand in reply. He continues to glare at Jean as he shakes Mikasa’s hand as well. Suddenly Jean speaks up as he starts paying attention to Mikasa. “Hey, you’re the one that Armin always draws.”

“I don’t always draw her.” Armin says with a sigh. “I can draw you too, if you stay still.”

“You’re really pretty.” Jean says to Mikasa with a smile, to which Armin frowns at gives him a tug on the sleeve.

“Don’t even try to flirt with her.”

“Yeah, she’ll probably kill you.” Eren speaks up.

Mikasa sighs and doesn’t seem to want to give much output. She simply starts a conversation with Eren and starts walking, to which everyone follows. This causes Armin and Jean to be stuck talking together for the walk, not that Jean really minds.

“So where are we going?” Jean asks with a smile.

“Frozen yogurt place today I believe.” Armin says softly, obviously trying to listen in on Eren and Mikasa’s conversation. It’s what he always does, so he can’t help it.

“Eh... I haven’t had frozen yogurt for a long time.” Jean says softly.

“It’s good.” Armin makes brief eye contact with Jean. “I like the fruity stuff the most.”

“They got chocolatey stuff?”

“Duh.” Armin grins, giving Jean a smug expression.

“Don’t be a dick.” Jean says in reply before ruffling his blonde hair up again. Armin laughs it off for a while and fails to fix his hair, not much caring about it. That is, until he looks forward again to see Eren staring back at him with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. Armin quickly fixes his hair at that point, trying to hide the red straining his cheeks.

Eren’s stare doesn’t seem to relent though. Before Armin knows it, Eren quickly back tracks next to Armin (purposely ignoring Jean) before getting close and whispering. “Is he your boyfriend or something?”

Armin turns bright red and shakes his head frantically. “No!” Eren grunts and quickly speeds up to walk next to Mikasa again. Armin is so embarrassed... How could Eren just ask something like that as if it’s nothing? Plus, Armin wouldn’t even be interested in guys like Jean... Or, well, that’s what he supposes. He has never actually dated anyone... Eren and Mikasa are the only people who really even know that Armin has interest in guys. Not that anyone is interested in him in return, anyway.

The blonde briefly makes eye contact with Jean before looking away frantically, obviously embarrassed. Stupid Eren had to make everything awkward! As Armin quietly panics, Jean is eyeing him with curiosity. He begins to wonder if he offended Armin somehow.

 

\- - -

 

“Eh, what the hell, isn’t that expensive with all those toppings?” Jean asks as he eyes Armin’s fruity concoction.

“Oh, yeah, I guess...” Armin looks at the bowl in front of him for a while, before reaching for more toppings.

“Holy shit Armin!” Eren yells as he notices the gigantic monster of candy and fruit that Armin has made. “Mikasa, look at this!”

Mikasa makes her way over and stops dead in her tracks as she notices what Armin has in front of him. “...Can you eat all of that, Armin?”

“Don’t doubt me.” Armin says with a pout.

“You always get the smallest cup when we come here though.” Mikasa says with a worried expression (considering that she still looks normal unless you are good at reading her).

“Yeah, you won’t be able to finish it.” Eren says much more bluntly.

Finally Jean speaks up. “I can eat it with you.” Armin turns bright red and opens his mouth to protest, but when Mikasa puts her hand on his shoulder, he stops himself from saying whatever he was going to.

“That’s good” is all Mikasa says before walking to a table with Eren. Meanwhile, those big green eyes look at Armin and Jean momentarily before their attention is stolen away by Mikasa commenting about something, much too quiet for the two still standing to hear.

“Jean, you really don’t have to.” Armin says when his attention is turned back to the current issue. “I can eat this by myself.”

“You heard what they said, Armin.” Jean sighs, putting his hands on his hips. He then giggles a little for his next comment, “Plus, I’ll look really cool in front of Mikasa if I help you out.”

“She won’t fall for you, Jean.” Armin says with a bored expression.

“You never know! She has a soft spot of you, and I can use that to my advantage!”

“So you’re using me now? What a good friend.” Armin says with a sarcastic smile.

“You know what I mean.” Jean pouts momentarily before pulling out his wallet. “Okay, let’s pay for this monstrosity.”

“W-wait, Jean-” Before Armin can complain more, Jean is handing money over the counter to a girl who looks to be about a year younger than them. Armin sighs loudly as Jean nudges him towards a table.

“Come on.” Jean says, only sitting when Armin does.

The blonde lets out a defeated sigh. “You... didn’t have to pay for that.”

“It’s fine.” Jean smiles a bit. “I mean, your friend said it- I’m from a stuck up place for rich kids.” Armin doesn’t seem to be satisfied by that answer, but he is obviously defeated. All he can think to do is pay Jean back, but getting to the topic would be awkward, and Armin doesn’t want to make a fool of himself. “Ah, I forgot spoons.” Jean says, standing up and quickly making his way to the counter.

Armin watches silently as Jean awkwardly explains his dismay to the girl behind the counter. Jean really is a nice guy... even if he doesn’t seem like it at first. The smile and thank you he gives the girl is enough to prove it. Jean is really like a ray of light, Armin realizes. He’s been quite a bit unsociable lately as Mikasa and Eren’s relationship seems to be almost to the point of surpassing simple friendship, with Mikasa being so unrelenting.

Jean catches Armin’s eyes and gives him a pleasant smile and a hum before sitting back down and handing him a bright blue plastic spoon. “Here.”

The blonde nods before mumbling gently, “Thank you.” Jean giggles in reply, and all Armin can think is how charming it is. Jeez, have his thoughts always been this sappy? That question leaves his mind as Jean shoves a spoonful in his mouth and lets out a muffled sound, leaving Armin unsure of how it tastes.

Armin hastily shoves a spoonful in his mouth as well and feels a chill down his spine. Way too sweet, even for his tastes! Jean must be dying, Armin is totally used to sweet things like this. Armin speaks up, “Sweet...”

“Haha, I’m gonna vomit.” Jean says with worried eyes, before hastily shoving another spoonful in his mouth. Armin narrows his eyes.

“...So you say.” He watches as Jean continues to down the overpowering substance.

“I’m not just gonna waste it.” Jean says as he eventually stops shoving spoonfuls down his throat. He sighs softly at the look Armin gives him. “I mean, you made it.”

“Shut up!” Armin instinctively smacks Jean’s wrist in reply to the comment. He wants to apologize, but words are already spilling out of his mouth. “It’s not like a homemade meal or something!”

“It might as well be!” Jean whines, rubbing his wrist softly despite how it didn’t really hurt. He backs up his argument by shoving another spoonful of frozen yogurt down his throat.

“Stop eating it!” Armin whines, beginning to shove spoonfuls down his own throat.

“No!” Jean says in an angry voice. The two are beginning to cause a little scene as they snap back and forth, continuing to stuff their faces. Jean is the first to be defeated, having eaten so much more. He holds his head and lets out a loud groan. “FUCK!”

“Haha, did you get brain fr-” Armin pauses and his pose soon looks the same as Jean’s. “UGH!” He yelps out with pain.

Meanwhile, Mikasa is stifling giggles as Eren laughs at the top of his lungs. The two hunched over slowly return back to life, only to start laughing as well.

They both puked a few minutes later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this much. All I really have to say despite that is... these two are big nerds. Like the biggest nerds you can imagine. That's them.


	3. Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin is pretty popular today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating changed to M because of this chapter and these two gaywads getting a little touchy-feely.

Armin slowly blinks open his eyes to feel the sun’s rays shining down on him. He slowly heaves himself out of bed and yawns loudly, putting on the glasses that he usually never uses. He carefully makes his way out of his room and to the bathroom. Toilet, sink, toothbrush, shower. That’s the usual routine. Oh, and medication is somewhere in there too. Today it was before brushing his teeth.

As he pulls a shirt over his head, Armin notices a ringing from the other room. He hastily walks over and puts the phone to his ear after softly tapping the green button. “Hello?”

“Hey, Armin?” He knows this voice, but he can’t put a name to it.

“Who is this?” Armin asks gently.

“It’s your auntie, honey.”

Armin bites his cheek and feels his good mood fading as he speaks. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to check in, see how you’re doing on your own.”

“I’m fine.” Armin quickly says.

“Is the medication working?” She quickly changes the subject, and Armin knows it’s because she actually doesn’t care about how he’s doing.

“...Yeah.” Armin is tempted to hang up. He really really hates this woman. Sure, she acts like she cares about his well being, but he can tell that she’s disappointed. She won’t get close or even attempt to care for Armin. Not that he cares.

“Is it helping?”

Armin holds back a grunt as he gives that same answer as before. “Yeah.”

“No more panic attacks?”

“No.” Armin says with a bored tone. He doesn’t want to talk about this.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine!” Armin snaps in reply. There’s silence for what seems like forever, yet it’s only a few seconds. “...Leave me alone.” He says before hanging up. Even if he liked her, he wouldn’t want anyone like her to get involved. All Armin seems to do is cause trouble for his family. He didn’t realize this until his grandpa died on him. It was the same with his parents. He takes complete blame for all of it.

His only family is the ocean.

Another ring comes from the phone and Armin is ready to throw it across the room, until he notices the person calling is someone else. “Hello?”

“Hi Armin!” The loud and refreshing voice says.

“Jean?” Armin takes a deep breath of relief without even realizing it.

“Good morning!” Jean says before laughing joyfully. “Do you wanna hang out?”

“Eh? Right now?” Armin glances at the clock on his nightstand. “I just woke up.”

“Oh, I can come over then!”

“Why? Is something up?”

“I’m just lonely.” Jean says quickly without skipping a beat. Armin sighs a bit, to which Jean’s happy voice seems to sadden a bit. “No?”

“No no, you can, you can! Do you remember where it is from yesterday?”

“Yeah. I can just follow the vomit trails if not.”

“Ew.” Armin says, yet he starts laughing loudly.

“Okay cool, cuz I’m outside your apartment building right now.”

“What?” Armin rushes over to the window and looks down at the street below. He can see Jean looking up with a smile on his face and a phone in his hand. Armin hangs up quickly and rushes out of his room, running down stairs and out of the main entrance. “Jean!”

“Yo.” Jean giggles and puts his phone in his pocket, only to pause for a second when he focuses on Armin. “Eh? Glasses?”

“Oh!” Armin turns bright red and pulls them off nervously. “S-sorry... I usually only wear them in the morning.”

“They’re cute.” Jean gives Armin a questioning look. “You should wear them more.”

“D-don’t say that.” Armin scratches the back of his head and looks away to hide his red face.

“It’s true.” Jean gets closer to Armin and gently sets a hand underneath his chin to turn his head up gently. “Your eyes are really pretty, but they look even better with those on.” Jean grabs them from Armin’s hands as he’s too embarrassed and shocked to do much and he slips them on him. “See?”

“HEY HOMOS! GET A ROOM!” Someone driving past screams and laughs loudly, slowing down to mock the two. Armin looks over and recognizes the dude screaming.

“SHUT UP CONNIE! GO MAKE OUT WITH SASHA!” Armin yells loudly in reply.

Connie makes a disgruntled expression in reply and drives away, not adding anymore snarky comments. Jean looks at him driving away with curiosity, yet his hands still haven’t moved away. Armin is the one that gently pushes Jean’s hands away. Jean attempts to get a good look at Armin’s face, but he’s too embarrassed to let Jean see how red he is. This is stupid...

“S-sorry.” Armin says gently.

“For what?” Jean asks with curiosity.

“...Um, that probably wasn’t good for your reputation, y’know...” Armin continues to avoid eye contact as he speaks. “I mean- Connie is actually a really nice guy, he just... talks to a lot of people. I’ve already gotten backlash about shit I’ve done, but you...”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jean says with a worried expression. “I’ve gotten a lot of shit about stuff like this before. In fact, it’s one of the reasons I moved away...”

“Eh?” Armin looks up at Jean with surprize.

“...Uh, can we... not talk about this out here?” Jean asks with worry obvious in his voice.

“...Right!” Armin quickly leads Jean inside and up the stairs. He walks to the third door down on the left and opens it, realizing he never locked it.

“Hehe, it smells like you.” Jean says calmly as Armin closes the door behind them.

“Don’t say weird stuff like that.” Armin sighs and pouts. He watches as Jean settles himself on the couch in front of the tiny T.V.

“Got cable?”

“Too expensive. I just use that for movies.” Armin says in reply and Jean looks at Armin before patting the spot next to him.

“Come here.” Armin smiles a bit and sits next to Jean. “So, you wanna know about why I left Trost?” Armin nods slowly.

“If you want to share.”

“I guess it’s time to tell the story then...” Jean sighs with a slight smile. “So, I was really good friends with this guy named Marco. Best of friends, even. We were like brothers of fiction, together every single moment we could be. It was like this for as long as I could remember, until highschool.”

“Highschool?”

“11th grade, in particular, was where the road started to get bumpy. People started giving us glares when we walked to school together and some people would even yell at us from across the street. I really didn’t think about him like that, he was my best friend, but apparently we were the only people who could understand it. I was deemed Jean ‘Gaylord’ Kirstein and him Marco ‘Faggot’ Bodt. I honestly didn’t care, but I guess he did.”

Armin listens intently as Jean continues to speaks. “He got upset, really really upset, after someone had the nerve to try threaten him. He was too nice of a guy, y’know? So I had to do something about it for him, or I’d feel awful. The guy who did it got a broken nose after I was done with him, and that’s when hell broke loose. Suspended. My parents didn’t want me to see Marco for a while, even though I was defending him.” Jean pauses, as if the next part will break his heart to say.

“I came back to school eventually and I was allowed to see Marco again. But when I didn’t find him at school that day, I ended up asking someone about it. What I got in reply was ‘you didn’t hear?’.” There’s a pause. “...There was a car crash apparently. He died, and I didn’t even know about it. It was hit and run, so no one knew who did it. I was furious. I came home and yelled at my parents for hours for not telling me. They didn’t know what happened either. It seems no one knew what happened. Plus, people always turned a blind eye whenever I tried to get answers.”

Armin rubs his eyes furiously as he tries to not cry, but Jean continues speaking after a very long pause. “That’s when the bullying got even worse. Instead of threats, I was actually pulled behind the school and got the utter shit beat out of me. This happened a few times, but I tried to hide it. Soon enough a guy gave me a black eye and my parents decided that being there was total shit for me. So we moved when the school year ended. That brings me here, today.”

Jean looks really sad when Armin gets a good look at him, but it’s only for a second. Jean quickly covers up his sad expression with a smile. “Sorry, that was really long!”

“I’m sorry.” That’s all Armin knows to say. Jean stiffens up at those words.

“No. Don’t be sorry.” Jean gives Armin a worried expression, but he’s obviously still trying to keep a smile on his face. “I shouldn’t have told that story. I don’t want you to look that sad.”

“I can’t begin to understand... If I lost Mikasa or Eren like that, I don’t know what I’d do...”

“You’ve lost a lot more than me though.” Jean says with a worried expression. “If anything, you’re the strong one. I mean, look at this apartment. Not a speck of dust.”

Armin smiles weakly, only to let out a soft squeal when warmth surrounds him. He looks up to see Jean embracing him tightly. His eyes are shut and he’s making... a really pained face. All Armin can do is slowly move his arms around Jean as well. Neither of them cry like they expected the other to, but when they move away from each other, the air is still thick.

“...Have you had breakfast?” Jean asks, breaking the silence.

“Not yet.”

“I can make some. I’m really good at cooking, y’know?”

“Uh, I think all I’ve got breakfast wise is pancake mix.” Armin smiles sheepishly.

“Good enough with me.” Jean stands up and Armin attempts to trail behind him, only to be gently pushed back onto the couch. “Nope. No peeking. I’m not giving away my delicious techniques.”

“Loser.” Armin says with a grin as he watches Jean walk into the kitchen.

“Shut up.” Jean laughs in reply. Armin finds his eyes trail after Jean as he himself can’t. He feels a bit awkward, having a guy he met just a few days before cooking breakfast for him, but maybe he really needs a friend like this. “Hey, Armin.” Jean says as he pulls the pancake mix out of a cabinet.

“Hm?” The blonde replies in a questioning tone.

“Thanks for being so nice to me. It must be annoying.” Jean smiles sadly to himself, only to yelp when the one getting embraced is himself. When did he get up...?

“You’re not annoying.” Armin mumbles against Jean’s back. This is really intimate, he’ll admit. But... he doesn’t find the will to stop himself.

“Armin.” Jean turns around quickly and grabs Armin’s hands, leaning down a bit so their height difference lessens. “Do you...” Jean stutters a bit, and stops speaking. He can only continue if he looks away from Armin’s bright blue eyes. “Do you like dudes?”

“...Yeah.” Armin says carelessly, it’s not really a secret.

“Really?” Jean furrows his brow and his grip on Armin’s hands gets a bit tighter.

“Mhm. It’s not a secret or anything.”

“So... you wouldn’t mind if I...” Jean cuts himself off as he inches his face closer and closer to Armin’s. He can feel his heart beat get faster and faster the closer he gets, which is funny considering how everything else seems to be going in slow motion. He notices Armin closing his eyes and does the same, until the space between their lips is filled, along with a gentle hum from Armin.

When they part, it’s only for a brief moment by the time Jean has to come back for more. He’s always been into girls, so this is different. He honestly can’t believe he’s doing this as his arms slowly slide down and around Armin’s waist. The blonde’s skinny arms go around Jean’s neck in reply.

This time when they part, it seems to be the end of it. Jean is the first to pull his arms away and Armin does the same slowly, but he continues to stay close and give Jean a look with glazed over eyes. It was neither of the two’s first kisses, but it was much nicer than any of the previous.

“...Sorry.” Jean says with an embarrassed tone. He avoids eye contact as his face turns brighter and brighter red. “...I, um...”

“It’s okay.” Armin mumbles softly in reply. He truly wants to stay close to Jean like that- to feel his warmth and his lips- but he knows that it’s time for him to give the other space. He smiles at Jean before turning away and sitting back on the couch. He pulls out his phone and scrolls through his contacts, mostly as a way to avoid eye contact.

“Should I... leave...?” Jean asks gently, unsure if he should even still be in the room.

Armin looks up from his phone and at Jean before giving him a weak smile. “Only if you want to.” He would completely understand if Jean just left. He wouldn’t hold anything against him.

Despite the need to leave pushing Jean, he can’t find the will. He silently thanks Armin that he didn’t put anything on the stove yet as he get closer, and settles himself next to the blonde. “I... don’t want to.”

“That’s okay too.” Armin says gently with a smile. “Whatever feels right.”

Jean gulps a bit and mumbles. “I... I want to kiss you again.”

Armin giggles softly before scooting closer to Jean. “...Whatever feels right.” He closes the space between them with that. Since when was he so smooth, he wonders.

Jean pulls Armin close to him and soon enough Jean’s on his back with Armin pressing his body close to his as their kiss and embrace get more heated. Jean doesn’t know what he’s doing as he does it, but his hands begin exploring Armin’s back. He’s unsure of himself as he does it, but it... feels right.

When his hands settle on Armin’s ass, the blonde squirms uncomfortably. Jean pulls away from the heated kiss and mumbles gently. “Sorry.” Armin shakes his head and smiles at Jean.

“I just didn’t expect that.” The blonde replies. “We can go that far if you want to.” Armin touches his forehead to Jean’s. “...Or farther.”

“...Whatever feels right?”

“Mhm.”

Jean leans up and kisses Armin again, but very briefly this time. He seems to focus on his hands as he gently snakes them under Armin’s shirt. Armin lets out a warm breath as Jean seems to almost ghost his fingers over Armin’s back. Suddenly Armin’s phone starts buzzing loudly and the two both loudly sigh in sync.

“I’m so popular today.” Armin says as he sits up, still straddling Jean when he presses the green button. “Hello?”

“Armin, let’s hang out.”

“I’m busy Eren.” Armin glances at Jean underneath him and Jean has an impatient look on his face.

“Busy with what? Come on. Let’s get breakfast.”

“Eren, really. I’m busy.”

“Bullshit, you’re never busy in the morning. Come on! You can bring that Jean guy too! Whatever!”

“I’m actually already hanging out with him right now.” Armin glances at Jean and gives him a weak smile. “So no.”

“What?! Where are you?! You’re home, aren’t you?!” Eren yells into his phone in reply and Armin grimaces.

“I’m not telling you.”

“I’m coming in!” Eren says loudly into the phone, and Armin yelps in reply.

“NO! EREN!” Too late. His door is forced open. Armin really should start locking that thing... Eren looks like he’s about to say something, until he notices Armin and Jean’s current position. His voice catches in his throat and his face turns bright red. “I told you I’m busy.” Armin says with a blank face.

“HOLY SHIT, YOU COULD’VE TOLD ME YOU WERE...!” His voice catches in his throat again and he looks away, bright red. “I- just wanted breakfast, man...”

Armin gets off of Jean and approaches Eren, who’s still frozen in the doorway. Before Armin can force the brunnette to leave, Jean speaks up. “I could go for breakfast.”

“What?” Armin whirls around and looks at Jean with his brow furrowed. “I thought we were gonna-”

“LET’S JUST GO TO IHOP, OKAY?!” Eren interrupts, not wanting to hear anything unholy. All Armin was going to say was something about Jean making breakfast, but it’s actually really amusing to see Eren so flustered.

“You okay with that Jean?” Armin asks with a grin.

“Hell yeah.” Jean grins in reply, getting himself up off of the couch.

The two quickly slip on their shoes, and Armin attempts to takes his glasses off before they leave, but Jean seems to notice as he pushes him out of the door. “Let’s go blondie.”

“Dickbag.” Armin replies with a red face as he locks his door behind Jean.

Eren seems to take a loud intake a breath as they finally leave that room. “...Let’s go. I’ve got my car.”

“I brought mine.” Jean replies, and Eren looks embarrassed as he pays attention to Jean in particular.

“Leave it. We’ll come back later.” Eren looks between the two briefly with a frown before walking down the hallway. “Come on.” Jean and Armin both have to hold back snickers over how embarrassed Eren is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


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